The Hive and DBuzz Team attended the first-ever basketball convention in the Philippines initiated by Filipino-Australian community-builder Marco Selorio with special guest LA Lakers Assistant Coach Phil Handy. BasketballCon (BCON) is not just a gathering of the Filipino basketball community but also a gathering of the street dance and the Web3 communities in the Philippines.
Before the Basketball Convention lifestyle event at Paco Arena in Manila, Marco Selorio and LA Lakers coach Phil Handy made their first stop at La Salle Zobel giving some inspirational talks and insights to the players and coaches of the La Salle basketball team.
The World Supremacy Battlegrounds (WSB) founder, Marco Selorio and Phil Handy also visited and were interviewed during the Halftime break of the PBA Game. They visited the PBA game to let the audience know about the BasketballCon (BCON) event and as part of their promotional activities.
Street Dance Competition (WSB):
We arrived at the venue of the Basketball Convention (at around 12:30 PM) at the Paco Arena, City of Manila. The BCON event organized by Marco Selorio combines basketball, street dance, and the Web community under one roof for collaboration.
Upon arriving at Paco Arena the World Supremacy Battlegrounds Manila Street Dance Qualifier started already. The program started at around 10:00 AM with some guests such as veteran PBA Coach Joe Lipa and the "Anta Shock The Game 4x4 Finals" featuring celebrity basketball stars like Eric "Eruption" Tai versus the Point Guard Academy.
I am not familiar with all the groups that joined the World Supremacy Battlegrounds (WSB) competition because I am not a dancer, and I am not that aware of the street dance community but I enjoyed the showmanship and dance skills of the Filipino community that were given a chance to showcase their talents through the BCON event.
The WSB Manila edition featured the group of YouTube vlogger Whamos Cruz, whose street dance group OBSEQUIOUS won the World Supremacy Battlegrounds Manila Street Dance Qualifier after it was announced at the later part of the program.
Prominent international dancer from the World of Dance, and YouTube celebrity Khen John also graced the events and gave some inspiring words to encourage all the dancers who participated in the street dance competition.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
|---|---|
With Whamos Cruz
Basketball Community Panel Talks:
Right after the street dance competition the Hoops Culture panel talks followed. The Hoops Culture panel talks featured Dave Riemer, basketball memorabilia collector Dr. Rico Mesina, and Maya Montecillo from the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP).
There was also an NBA Panel Talk hosted by a veteran sportscaster and news anchor Jinno Rufino of Sportscenter showing on ESPN Philippines.
Jinno Rufino hosted the talks featuring some international basketball personalities such as Bruce Bolden of the Sydney Kings and certified player agent Andre Williams from LobX based in Australia.
According to Bruce Bolden during our conversation a day before the BCON event, their main purpose of coming to the Philippines is not only to attend the basketball convention but to look out for prospects and possible talented young basketball stars that they could support for a US college scholarship.
The "Eternity of Basketball" podcast team revealed during a discussion about their plans for the basketball community in the Philippines. The podcast is dedicated to taking a look at the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s featuring veteran podcasters Charlie Cuna, Sid Ventura, and Noel Zarate.
There's also a panel talk with the sneakers community featuring Martin David from Sole Movement, sneaker enthusiast and vlogger Nico Yabut, and boss Jimmy from Anta Philippines.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
|---|---|
PBA Legend Vince Hizon
Highlights of the BCON 2023:
The highlights of the Basketball Convention or BCON were the panel talks hosted by Jinno Rufino featuring Los Angeles Lakers Assistant Coach Phil Handy wherein he gave some ideas about his take on Philippine basketball and the future of Filipino basketball players.
Phil Handy also gave some insights on the possibility of Kai Sotto's chances to make it to the National Basketball Association (NBA) after he was invited by the Orlando Magic Summer League Team.
During the Question and Answer Portion of the event, our very own Tiktok content creator Tony Rebamonte asked a very interesting question on how Phil Handy can handle conflict between members of the team. According to the LA Lakers coach, he should talk personally with each player to resolve the conflict.
Aside from the basketball panel talks, sneakers discussion, street dance competition, and Web3 meetups, there were also games of one-on-one basketball, three-point, and half-court shoot-out with cash prizes to all winners.
During the meet and greet portion of the BCON event, we were able to talk to some celebrity basketball players like Vince Hizon, Bong Alvarez, and Web3 or cryptocurrency key opinion leaders like House of Crypto Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) Kha Led and Marvin Gozon Favis.
Together with the Hive Team composed of Tony Rebamonte (@tonyrebamonteph), D.Buzz Founder Chris Rice (@chrisrice), Noel Alimasac (@noelgamingtv), and Ron David (@rondavid), we were able to meet with some of the celebrities in the Philippines like basketball stars Vince Hizon, Bong Alvarez, celebrity vlogger and dancer Whamos Cruz and Eric "Eruption" Tai to name a few.
We were able to talk also with some Web3 key opinion leaders and YouTube content creators such as Marvin Favis, Tekkon Philippines Giu Comia, DVCode CEO, and Founder Eli Rabadon.
One of the most interesting topics I would like to share with every one of us here on Hive was when Marco Selorio introduced me to Peeya delos Reyes the director, of events and game operations of the East Asia Super League (EASL), considered as the premier Asian basketball league, featuring top teams from China, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.
According to Peeya, she will be busy in the succeeding days because the Philippines will be hosting the FIBA World Cup this coming August 25 to September 25 hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.
She told me that they will try to bring back the Bay Area Dragons to the Philippine Basketball Association and gave me some personal contacts for future events that I could write to, and for the Hive community to collaborate with the basketball community.
 |  |
|---|---|
 | |
|---|---|
 |  |
|---|---|
With YouTube Star & Crypto Trader Marvin Favis
My Take:
Overall, the Basketball Convention (BasketballCon or BCON) Meetup was a great success, providing the basketball communities, the dance communities, and the Web3 communities with valuable insights and information about the world of basketball, street dance, and cryptocurrency or Web3.
The Marco Selorio-initiated event showcased BCON's organizer's commitment to promoting communities, whether you're from basketball, street dance, or from Web3, they are all united under one roof, a Filipino community that supports each other, towards a better future for the Philippines.
We are looking forward to another Basketball Convention (BCON) activity soon.
EASL Director for Operations Peeya Delos Reyes
All Photos Are Mine Taken through a Borrowed iPhone.
Hi, everyone! My name is Ed Umbao, also known as @philnews.xyz here on Hive. I am the former co-founder of PhilNews.Ph, one of the leading news sites in the Philippines, and the current founder and owner of PhilNews.XYZ.
I have been blogging since 2010 when I was working as an OFW in Saudi Arabia. I became a member of Hive in 2019 and posted only two articles before returning to short-form blogging through D.Buzz in February 2023
